Wednesday 16 December 2009 17.00 EST
First published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 17.00 EST

Emile Heskey has cautioned those who expect Aston Villa to start slipping down the table in the new year to think again.

Goals from Heskey – his third in six games – and James Milner in a comfortable 2-0 win at Sunderland elevated Villa to third place in the Premier League yesterday and the sometime England striker said: "Our aim is to stay up where we are now or go even higher.

"It's getting interesting now because some people may have thought we would start diving off a bit but we are in a great position and our aim is to sustain it. We have got to stay there."

If the title may be beyond Villa's reach, Chelsea and Manchester United will not be underestimating them while other rivals for Champions League qualifying round places cannot discount the threat to their status and bank balances posed by Martin O'Neill's fast-evolving, significantly improved side. Indeed it could be said that Villa have parked their tanks outside Anfield.

Rafa Benítez, Liverpool's manager, had claimed his stuttering team would finish the season in the top four, but Heskey merely smiled at mention of such bombast. "Benítez has to say things like that because he's manager of such a big club," said the former Liverpool striker. "What he says doesn't bother us at all."

Heskey is relishing playing in an always pacy Villa side suddenly full of fluid passing and positional inter-changing. "We've got so much going forward," he said. "Stewart Downing has given us a new dimension and he and Ashley Young can swap positions. We've also been very solid at the back, where we have strength in all the defensive positions."

Milner, meanwhile, a former winger, has proved a revelation in a central-midfield incarnation. "Milly has got so much ability – he scored an incredible goal [at Sunderland] – and he has slotted into his new position very quickly and done really well."

Heskey, like Milner, Downing, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Young, hopes to play for England at next summer's World Cup but claims to be concentrating on his club football at present. "I just want to play in Villa's first team," he said. "Anything after that is a bonus."

Milner sang from a similar hymn sheet. "The World Cup is a long way off. My performances for Villa will decide whether I get there so I've just got to keep going."

He is clearly enjoying his relocation to midfield,too. "I played there a few times for Leeds as a youngster so it's not entirely new," he said. "But hopefully it can improve me as a player. I certainly think I'm progressing."

There is little doubt Villa are much improved on the side who threatened to break into the top four last season only to fall away in the new year. "We've got the squad, the depth and the quality to do better than last year," said Milner.

"This is a vital period and the table can change a lot over Christmas, but I think we've learnt from last year. We are a different team, we seem more solid – Richard Dunne has been brilliant in defence – with a good balance of youth and experience. Hopefully we can keep going to the finish this time."